Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois is one of the world''s leading contemporary artists. Born in Paris in 1911, she settled in New York in 1938, beginning to exhibit her work shortly afterwards. Bourgeois is a sculptor of immense distinction working with many materials, from marble and bronze to latex, fabric and mirrors. She has exhibited worldwide, producing a beguiling body of work featuring among other things spiders, cages and a range of found and sculpted objects. Her early childhood is a recurring theme that fuels her work. In 1982, Bourgeois was the first woman artist to be given a full-scale sculpture retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1993, she represented the United States at the Venice Biennale. She was the first artist to have an exhibition at Tate Modern in 2000.

Developed in close collaboration with the artist, this extensive monograph provides a comprehensive overview of Bourgeois''s entire career. Designed as an illustrated glossary to her life and work, it covers everything from A for Abandonment to W for Words, via F for Family, Father Figures and Feminism, and S for Sexuality and Studio.

Featuring contributions from a breathtaking roster of international literary and cultural figures as well as selected writings by Bourgeois and a full chronology, this is the most thorough and up-to-date publication on the artist in print.